Liliane Bettencourt case: timeline

French President Nicolas Sarkozy denied allegations that his party had
received illegal campaign donations in cash from France's richest woman and
her husband.

Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to the L'Oreal fortune

6:00AM BST 01 Sep 2011

Here is a timeline of the Bettencourt affair, which dates back several years but has taken a new political turn and put President Sarkozy under renewed political pressure.

August 31, 2011 - Sarkozy’s office denies allegations that he was handed cash by Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 election campaign. The assertions, printed in the daily Liberation, are made in a book, “Sarkozy Killed Me”, to be published on September 1.

June 8 2011 - Francoise Meyers-Bettencourt files a new request to have her mother placed under guardianship, reviving their family feud.

December 6 - Liliane Bettencourt and her daughter say they have settled the family feud which sparked the tax and party funding investigations. Francoise Meyers-Bettencourt agrees to drop charges against Banier. Investigations continue in Bordeaux into allegations of influence-peddling by Eric Woerth and suspected illegal party funding.

November 17 - Judge Isabelle Prevost-Desprez is taken off the case and responsibility for the investigations is transferred to three judges in Bordeaux.

July 26 - Police question Bettencourt about two undeclared Swiss bank accounts and her involvement in a Seychelles island. - Bettencourt has acknowledged the existence of the Swiss accounts and says she will repatriate the 78 million euros ($100 million) held in them and settle up with the tax authorities.

July 21 - Police question Florence Woerth on how she came to work for a firm managing the Bettencourt fortune.

July 15 - Police detain four people close to Bettencourt for questioning about suspected tax evasion and money laundering. The four - Banier, Patrice de Maistre, her wealth manager, Fabrice Goguel, her tax lawyer, and Carlos Vejarano, the manager of a property in the Seychelles - are all freed the next day.

July 12 - Police search homes of Banier and Bettencourt. Sarkozy says Woerth has been exonerated of any wrongdoing and has his full confidence. Sarkozy also urges the minister to step down as treasurer of ruling UMP party which he does on July 13.

July 11 - The budget ministry says tax inspectors clear Woerth of interfering in the tax affairs of Bettencourt.

July 4 – Two junior ministers embroiled in expenses scandals stand down in a rare double resignation. Analysts see it as an unsuccessful attempt to draw attention away from Mr Woerth and restore some credibility to Mr Sarkozy's battered government.

June 28 – Florence Woerth, who worked at the firm that manages the heiress' fortune, tells newspaper Le Monde that she underestimated the extent of the conflict of interest posed by her role and her husband's position as budget minister.

June 27 – Mr Woerth's successor as budget minister says the authorities will carry out a full review of Mrs Bettencourt's tax returns. Mr Sarkozy says he has full confidence in the labour minister, whom he needs to push through the pension reforms.

June 25 – Mr Woerth denies having blocked a tax investigation into possible fraud by Mrs Bettencourt after a magistrate says he reported suspicions to the Budget Ministry in January 2009.

June 21 – Mr Woerth announces that his wife will step down from her role at the wealth management company. Mrs Bettencourt says she will work with the tax authorities to bring her overseas assets into line.

June 20 – Economy Minster Christine Lagarde says there will be an investigation if allegations of tax evasion by Mrs Bettencourt are proven true. Some opposition politicians call for Mr Woerth to resign, accusing him of a conflict of interest.

December 2009 – Francoise Bettencourt-Meyer, the daughter of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, launches a civil lawsuit to try to have Mrs Bettencourt declared legally irresponsible and placed under the authority of the court.

Late 2007 – The daughter files a criminal complaint against photographer and socialite Banier. She accuses him of taking advantage of her mother's frailty after Bettencourt showered him with gifts worth about 1 billion euros. Banier denies any wrongdoing.